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Date: 1/18/2023
SPRINGFIELD – Mayor Domenic Sarno announced through a press release on Jan. 7 that longtime City Councilor Clodo Concepcion has passed. As of press time there were no further details.
Concepcion was one of the first ward councilors and was elected to represent Ward 5 in 2009. He became a political powerhouse in Sixteen Acres where he also served as the president of the neighborhood council.
Unsuccessful in a council bid in 2007, Concepcion came to office in 2009 with a close victory over City Councilor Carol Lewis-Caulton. At the time, he was president of the Sixteen Acres Civic Association and served as a park commissioner.
Concepcion’s passion before, during and after his time on the council was the Greenleaf Community Center, later renamed after him. Concepcion rallied support to repair and reopen the center for years as well as to have programming for both seniors and youth.
He was an active advocate for the city’s seniors and had served as the president of the Massachusetts Senior Action Council. As a councilor he supported the establishment of a new senior citizens center.
The statements he made about the 2009 election summed up much of his attitude about politics. He said, “I don’t make promises. I told the people who voted for me that I don’t make promises, except to do the best I can.”
Concepcion frequently would say about himself, “What you see is what you get.”
He lost the seat in 2015 to Marcus Williams, who told Reminder Publishing the night of his victory “I would hope Mr. Concepcion would be willing to work with me. He had done good work for the ward and I would hope to continue in that same line. I would like to work beside him and seek some of his advice dealing with the issues of residents of Sixteen Acres, specifically.”
Sarno stated, “First of all, my wife Carla and I are so very sorry to hear about the passing of our dear friend former City Councilor Clodovaldo ‘Clodo’ Concepcion. We send our sympathy, thoughts, prayers and encouragement to his wife Theresa, daughters, family and friends. Adorned in his trademark hats, the Cuban born Clodo loved our city and his 16 Acres neighborhood and Ward 5 area. He never looked for fanfare and no one worked harder for seniors, veterans (a proud Air Force veteran himself), quality of life and public safety issues than Clodo. His hallmark seven-year effort to save and rehab the Greenleaf Community Center – he literally would sleep there, and advocate to any and all officials on the federal, state and local level for the proper funding. Years later, the community center would aptly be renamed in his honor, The Clodo Concepcion Community Center. Clodo also worked very closely with my administration to build the state-of-the-art Raymond A. Jordan Senior Center. Clodo would only speak when necessary – he was a gentleman of action. Rest in peace my friend. You will be missed, but rest assured your legacy and spirit for fighting for the common person will live on.”
City Council President Jesse Lederman said of Concepcion in a written statement, “On behalf of the entire City Council I express our condolences to the family and friends of former Ward 5 City Councilor Clodo Concepcion, especially his wife Theresa who was always omnipresent during his time in public service.
“Councilor Concepcion made history as part of the first wave of ward councilors elected in 2009, helping to shape the role of the City Council that we know today. He is remembered especially for his passion on neighborhood quality of life issues, veteran services, and those issues impacting senior citizens.
“Even after his time in elected office you could encounter Councilor Concepcion regularly at the Sixteen Acres Community Center that now bears his name. He never stopped being a resource for the constituents that he cared so deeply for, and from time to time would offer advice to me when I would stop by.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Concepcion family during this time, and we thank them on behalf of the City of Springfield for Councilor Concepcion’s service and lifetime of dedication to our community and our country.”
Current Ward 5 City Councilor Lavar Click-Bruce said, “I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend former City Councilor Clodovaldo ‘Clodo’ Concepcion. I send my sympathy, thoughts, prayers and encouragement to his wife Theresa, daughters, family and friends. Mr. Concepcion’s life is a shining example of community involvement and making a difference. Mr. Concepcion arrived from Cuba in hopes for a better life and went right to work raising his family, and immediately got involved with the city of Springfield and our community. A testament to his lifelong record of service to our community was recognized by Mayor Sarno when the former Greenleaf Center was renamed to the Clodo Concepcion Center. Mr. Concepcion was a proud Air Force veteran and he worked hard for seniors and veterans. I want to salute Mr. Concepcion on a life well lived and thank him on behalf of thousands of young people in which the lives he has touched.”